Moloka'i

Author: Alan Brennert
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2004
Pages: 416
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: This richly imagined novel, set in Hawaii more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little know time and place - and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day, a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end, but instead she discovers it's only the beginning.

Review: Moloka'i has been on my To Be Read list for years. Two things propelled me into reading it now. The May prompt in one of my reading groups is "a book set in a place you'd like to visit." Hawaii is near the top of my list. The other reason is that at Mass recently, the priest spoke about St. Damian who ministered to the lepers on Moloka'i. If I was looking for a sign, those were hard to miss.